Taxing pot: Uncharted territory

So how much money would a 2 percent excise tax generate for San Diego?

In 2011, the Patient Care Association of California estimated that city dispensaries had a customer base of about 70,000 patients and annual sales of roughly $200 million. The wholesale price paid by dispensaries would obviously be less than $200 million so it’s difficult to say how much money a 2 percent excise tax would generate for city coffers.

Those figures were before more than 200 medical marijuana collectives were closed in San Diego and Imperial counties after U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and her colleagues announced in 2011 sweeping enforcement actions aimed at distributors in California. The legal limbo for dispensaries dates back to 1996 when state voters approved an initiative to allow people with recommendations from state-licensed physicians to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

The City Council approved an ordinance two years ago that was later rescinded after a successful petition drive by medical marijuana proponents who considered it too restrictive. That plan required all of the city’s collectives to shut down and apply for permits and then limited them to some commercial and industrial zones.

The council won’t approve an ordinance at its 2 p.m. meeting Monday but rather provide direction to the city attorney on what it should include. The council can make changes to Filner’s plan, subject to a mayoral veto.

Filner’s medical marijuana proposal

• Dispensaries must not be within 600 feet of schools, parks, child care facilities, playgrounds or other dispensaries. The distance requirement doesn’t include churches, libraries or youth-serving facilities.

• A dispensary can’t be located on a premises that includes any residential use.

• The land-use areas where dispensaries can be located include commercial and industrial zones.

• Requires dispensaries sell only to medical marijuana patients who are registered with the state and carry a state-issued ID card.